An Understanding
by xXxdanknoscoperxXx
Summary: Genos confesses to Saitama that he was born female.
It was a pleasant enough day outside, if a little hot, though it simply made the infrequent breezes that meandered their way into the apartment all the more pleasant.

Saitama sat cross-legged, elbows resting on the small table before the T.V. as he leafed through one of his mangas. It was a quaint and humorous series about the adventures of a clueless wizard, something just entertaining enough to distract him from his utter boredom. In the past few days, there were no news reports about monsters, no imminent catastrophes, no natural disasters, nothing out of the ordinary.

Even Genos, who normally found himself scuttling about the apartment washing dishes, folding clothes, cooking meals, and cleaning was just as woefully bored, having completely exhausted his list of chores. He simply sat, resting his elbow on the window sill, and his head in his hand, staring out at the sky as the sun lazily made its way downward toward the horizon. He had originally wanted to watch the city for the first sign of trouble but, seeing none, was completely distracted by the agonizingly slow passage of time.

He perked up, however, when he heard his teacher sniffle slightly as he turned a page of his manga.

Whipping his head toward Saitama, he asked, "Teacher, what's wrong? Are you getting sick? Do you need me to make you tea? I can put the kettle on right now if you wish."

Saitama simply blinked lazily up at him. "No, Genos. I'm not getting sick."

"I see." Genos slowly lowered his head back into his hand and continued staring.

Several long minutes passed, the silence of the room punctuated only by the repetitive tick-tick-ticking of a clock on the wall, as well as the sound of turning pages, occasionally a forceful exhale from Saitama when he found a scene particularly amusing.

Eventually, the sound of his teacher placing the book on the small table pulled Genos out of his distracted staring. He looked over once more as Saitama said flatly while picking at his ear, "Well, I've had enough of that one for today."

It was clear that Saitama was considering turning on the T.V. by the way he reached for the remote on the shelf, before deciding against it.

"Genos?" he asked, feeling his pupil's gaze on him.

"Yes, Teacher." Genos sat alert and perfectly straight now. "Is there something you need?"

He seemed to ponder it for a moment before replying, "Could you get me a can of juice from the fridge?"

"Of course, Teacher," Genos said as he diligently completed the task, placing the cold can quickly becoming wet with condensation on the table, before sitting before the table himself, legs tucked under him and hands resting in loose fists on his knees.

Saitama opened the bottle with a loud pop and fizz. "Thanks, Genos." He smiled lightly, then took a long gulp of the drink and set the can back down on the table.

Genos still sat straight and alert, patiently awaiting another instruction.

"Hmm..." It was clear his teacher was musing something over in his head as he leaned back on his hands.

"Yes, Teacher?"

"I was wondering, what's it like being a cyborg?" he let out bluntly.

Genos responded nearly instantly, "It is different. I have control over things I did not have control over when I was purely human. I can no longer sense pain in the same way in which a normal person does. However, my conscious brain can function much more quickly. My senses of sight and hearing are far more acute. I find myself in every way better than how I was."

That much was true. Genos had spent the first few months in his mechanical body considering all the advantages it had over his flesh one. Though even with all of his superhuman enhancements, he still could come nowhere near the level at which his venerable teacher stood, a man of purely flesh and bone. He almost grew ashamed to think that he who had so much of his body replaced still fell so far behind someone who reached such a high level on will alone.

"Ah." Saitama took another sip of juice. "So you don't miss being fully human, then?"

Before Genos's mind flashed images of his younger days, of his mother holding him tightly and feeling the warmth of her embrace, of being an ordinary child struggling to learn and being so pleased when he finally understood, of practicing and honing himself in order to become stronger, seeing the results of his budding power slowly but surely take shape after days, weeks, months.

And there were other memories as well, of wondering why his body looked and felt the way it did, of being chastised by his parents for being too masculine, of sobbing quietly to himself as he saw his body grow fuller in his early teenage years, of all the years he spent hating himself before Doctor Kuseno came along and fixed him.

"Genos?" Saitama looked slightly concerned at his pupil's prolonged silence. "Anyone in there?"

Genos looked up toward his teacher, then, unable to maintain his gaze from the recollection of his more shameful memories, quickly looked down at his hands. They were large, masculine, but unfortunately mechanical.

"No," he said simply. "I don't."

The concerned look lingered on Saitama's face though he made no response aside from occasionally sipping at his juice, looking up as though he were deep in thought.

Genos continued to stare down at his hands, wondering if his teacher somehow knew about his past. Of course, that was merely a paranoid fancy. There was no way he could have known. Would he want to know? Surely, that must have been what was intended by his line of questioning. Would he no longer want to have Genos as his loyal pupil if he knew? Genos did not want that. He wanted anything aside from that, but he certainly did not want to keep secrets from his teacher.

"Are you alright, Genos?" Saitama asked when Genos had spent almost ten minutes not looking up from the ground, sitting perfectly still. "I didn't make you think of something bad, did I?" For someone who Saitama had strongly doubted even had feelings in the first place, he seemed awfully upset.

"I am alright, Teacher," came the reply as he slowly looked back up.

"That's good." Saitama scratched slightly at his chin. "I was worried for a second there." He gave Genos a small smile.

A few more minutes passed in almost complete silence. Saitama leaned over to place the manga back on his shelf, then reached for the T.V. remote once more when he was suddenly interrupted.

"Teacher," said Genos, his voice steady and confident enough to hide his uncertainty.

"Huh? What is it?" His teacher looked at him and for a moment Genos's courage nearly failed him.

Genos spent several seconds trying to figure out how he should begin.

"As your student, I feel that I should not keep any secrets from you."

Saitama's expression was one of mixed confusion and curiosity.

Genos continued, "I believe that you should be aware of the fact that I am a deviant."

"A deviant?" Saitama stared in bewilderment. "You? I find that hard to believe. You're as upstanding as they come."

Swallowing down his shame, Genos forced the words from his mouth, "As a human, I had a woman's body."

Silence.

Unable to keep his gaze up, Genos lowered it once more, this time to rest on the wet ring on the table left by the juice can. He was definitely regretting saying it now, but if he had never forced the words out, he would have hated himself all the more for withholding information. Now all he had to do was wait.

"Huh..?" Saitama seemed completely bewildered. "You're a woman? But you look like a man..."

"No" was Genos's immediate reply. "I am not a woman."

His teacher made some sort of grumbling sound before continuing, "I'm confused, then. Uhm..." He sat wondering for a short while, before saying rather bluntly, "Do you not have a penis or something?"

Genos's face reddened considerably at the question.

"N…. No…." The pure straightforwardness of the question had caught him off guard.

"Ah," was Saitama's slightly surprised response. "Well, that's OK. No need to be embarrassed." He scratched at his face once more, wondering what else to say. What a strange topic they seem to have gotten on.

"But, that wasn't all, Teacher. I had… all the parts a woman does." He looked up slightly, just enough to see his teacher's face.

"Huh? There you go with that again..." Saitama's expression was back to one of concern and confusion. "Did you have boobs or something?"

"Yes, Teacher," answered Genos, face still pink.

"Well," Saitama began, "it's alright if you were a chubby kid too. A lot of kids are kind of chubby."

"That is not what I meant, Teacher..." Genos couldn't help but wonder if he would have become frustrated by now if he was in his fully flesh body. He struggled now to even keep his eyes level with his teacher's mouth. "I had a body that functioned as that of a female's. I had breasts and a... vagina and… a uterus as well."

At this, Genos glanced up and could see that Saitama's eyes had widened considerably.

"You must understand though, Teacher." His face reddened as his voice took on a pleading sort of tone. "I do not wish to justify my actions in any way should you not approve of what I have done, but I had always been incredibly unhappy as a girl and as a woman. Doctor Kuseno recreating my body in this way rekindled in me the will to live. Without him I would have surely taken my own life."

After a few more moments with no reply from his teacher, Genos was sure that his time as Saitama's pupil was done and over with. He could not help but then blurt out:

"I would be very gracious if you would not discard me as your student, but if you are offended or disturbed by what I have told you, I will leave and not bother you any more."

A few more moments of silence passed with still no reply. Although it was growing cooler by the minute, to Genos the room felt absolutely stifling as he waited patiently for some kind of response, be it acceptance or rejection. The longer the silence dragged on, the more anxious he grew.

"Uhm," answered Saitama after the long wait. "Genos, you're a man, right?"

After a few moments, Genos said obediently, "Yes, Teacher."

Reaching for the T.V. remote once again, Saitama replied, "OK, please don't confuse me again like you just did."

Genos's eyes brightened considerably at those words. "Yes, Teacher!" he said enthusiastically. "Thank you for understanding."

"Yep. Any time," answered Saitama as he leaned back and switched on the T.V.


End file.
